Suffrage During The Age of Jackson

Students learn about the changes to and expansion of voting rights during the 1800s. Then, students evaluate the arguments in favor of and against the changes involving white manhood suffrage.

This learning experience is designed for device-enabled classrooms. The teacher
guides the lesson, and students use embedded resources, social media skills, and
critical thinking skills to actively participate. To get access to a free version of the
complete lesson, sign up for an exploros account.

Teacher Pack

The Pack contains associated resources for the learning experience, typically in the form of articles and videos. There is a teacher Pack (with only teacher information) and a student Pack (which contains only student information). As a teacher, you can toggle between both to see everything.

Here are the teacher pack items for Suffrage During The Age of Jackson:

In this experience, students learn about the changes to and expansion of voting rights during the 1800s. Then, students evaluate the arguments in favor of and against the changes involving white manhood suffrage.

Objective:

Describe who gained suffrage by the 1820s.

Ever since the new nation of the United States was formed in 1776, there has been a dispute over who should have the right to vote in government elections.

Objective:

Describe who gained suffrage by the 1820s.

Think back to what you have already learned about voting in the colonial period and the early republic. In most states, who could vote in the presidential election of 1820? Choose all that apply.

After students have answered the poll, unlock the next part of this scene.

Initially, voting was limited to only rich and educated white males, but throughout the 1800s and early 1900s, voting rights in America changed dramatically.

In 1787, when the Constitution was ratified, voting rights were determined by the individual state and were often limited to white males who owned property or paid taxes. These qualifications limited the voting population to about one third of all white males. Additionally, in many states voting regulations excluded women and African Americans—slave or free.

Why do you think voting was limited to property owners?

Post your answer

Review your classmates’ posts and respond to at least two of them with a question or a positive comment.

Discuss with students some of their answers. Then explain to students that many states thought that property owners had a legitimate interest in the country’s success and that they deserved a voice in what was going on in their government. Additionally, states also believed that landowners had demonstrated that they were intelligent and hardworking enough not to be swayed in their opinions about who to vote for.